The Baltimore gang's tactics are emerging as more court documents are filed in a massive racketeering case accusing 13 female corrections officers of colluding with seven male inmates and several other gangsters on the outside.
Corrections officers allegedly smuggled BGF members contraband such as cellphones, which are essential to carrying out a criminal enterprise from behind bars. Many of the guards are also accused of being literally "in bed" with the BGF inmates.
Four of the officers became pregnant with prison gang leader Tavon White's baby, and two got tattooed with the gang leader's name.
An affidavit in the case says BGF recruits were specifically told to target female corrections officers with "low self-esteem, insecurities, and certain physical attributes," according to the Baltimore Sun. The idea was that these officers could be easily corrupted.
Indeed, with the help of prison guards, BGF members carried out money laundering, assault, extortion, and drug trafficking from behind bars, prosecutors say.
It's not uncommon for members of America's prison
Most corrections officers don't have college degrees or receive the same training cops get. In inner cities like Baltimore, many of them come from the same communities as the inmates they're guarding, criminal justice expert Martin Horn told us.
"Part of the problem you have in prison is highly manipulative inmates who are in some ways more sophisticated than the staff who are watching them," Horn said.